/. ; 


^^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^^ 


Purchased   by  the   Hamill    Missionary   Fund. 


BV  638  .W47  1914 

Wilson,  Warren  Hugh,  1867 

The  church  at  the  center 


LIBRARY 

OF    CHRISTIAN    PROGRESS 


Volumes  Issued 

The  Church  a  Community  Force.       By  Worth  M.    Tippy 
The  Church  at  the  Center.      By  Warren  H.  Wilson 
The  Making  of  a  Country  Parish.      By  Harlow  S.  Mills 


Cloth,  50  Cents,  Prepaid 


ADDITIONAL   VOLUMES  TO   BE  ISSUED 


THE    CHURCH   AT 
THE  CENTER 


WARREN  H.  WILSON 

Author  of  The  Church  of  the  Open  CouNTRr 


NEW  YORK 

Missionary  Education  Movement  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada 


1914 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
MISSIONARY    EDUCATION    MOVEMENT 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND   CANADA 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     Definitions  .         .         .         .        i 

II  A  Mode  of  Rural  Survey  for 
Record  and  for  Purposes  of 
Practical  Exhibit  .         .       9 

III     The  Country  Church  Program     17 

IV  Illustrations  of  Socialized  Ru- 
ral Church  Work  .  .     43 

V     Suggestions  for  Rural  Church 

Buildings         .         .         .         .69 

VI  The  Town  or  Village  Church 
IN  Leadership  of  Country 
Life  .         .         .         .         •79 

VII  The  Community  Center  Church 
AS  THE  Embodiment  of  Fed- 
eration AND  Religious  Union     93 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

A  Farmer's  Morning.     Frontispiece 
Blank  for  Map  of  the  Community    .     12 
Ready  for  a  Plowing  Match     .         .     26 
The  Du  Page  Church  .         .         .72 

Floor  Plans  of  the  Du  Page  Church     74 
A  Community  Center  .         .         .96 


DEFINITIONS 

SOCIAL  service  is  more  than  altruism 
or  betterment  or  uplift,  all  of  which 
are  attempted  for  personal  reasons.  And 
social  service  is  something  else  than 
neighborliness.  It  is  help  for  a  society- 
through  an  organization;  such  service  as 
a  church  can  render  a  community.  The 
social  value  of  a  church  is  its  usefulness  in 
the  community.  That  church  has  social 
value  which  satisfies  the  common  needs. 
In  our'^Lord's  time  ^'the  poor,"  "the  sin- 
ners," "the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Is- 
rael," were  the  people  whose  needs  were 
common  to  all.  To  them  Jesus  gave  his 
own  help  and  directed  the  first  attention 
of  organized  Christianity. 

Social  service  in  our  time  means  organ- 
ized service  to  those  in  whom  the  com- 

[I] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

munity  has  a  common  interest.  It  is  that 
kind  of  help  to  render  which  one  organizes 
a  group  or  joins  a  society. 

In  an  address  by  Mr.  John  M.  Glenn  is 
the  following:  "It  is  not  enough  that  a 
church  shall  take  good  care  of  its  own 
members,  no  matter  how  fully  it  may  sup- 
ply .them  with  spiritual  food.  No  church 
can  claim  to  have  done  its  duty  or  faced 
its  rightful  responsibility,  unless  it  has  been 
constantly  alert  to  seek  and  to  find  every- 
thing that  is  destructive  of  men's  physique 
and  men's  souls  that  may  lie  within  its 
reach. 

"The  churches  have  not,  on  the  whole, 
realized  that  they  have  a  duty  to  assume 
social  responsibilities,  to  know  and  under- 
stand their  neighborhoods,  their  cities,  and 
their  special  localities,  to  examine  into  ac- 
tual conditions  of  living  and  learn  what 
these  are  and  what  may  be  done  to  improve 
them,  and  to  insist  that  their  own  members 

[2] 


DEFINITIONS 


as  well  as  the  state  shall  do  their  utmost 
to  abolish  patent  existing  evils. 

*'If  a  church  has  not  inspired  its  mem- 
bers to  bold  adventure  in  behalf  of  the 
w^eak  and  for  the  sake  of  the  cornmunity, 
it  has  no  right  to  call  itself  a  church,  nor 
to  think  that  it  is  listening  to  the  call  of 
its  great  head." 

That  church  has  social  force  which  leads 
the  community.  It  is  a  community  church. 
Its  service  is  universal:  as  the  Master 
said,  "It  is  the  servant  of  all."  Every 
church  has  value  to  some  people.  Some 
churches  serve  a  few,  some  serve  "the  best 
people,"  but  the  church  with  social  force 
serves  all. 

To  serve  all  means  selection.  It  does 
not  mean  that  the  church  with  social  force 
has  everybody  in  its  congregation.  The 
community  church  may  be  attended  by 
only  a  part  of  the  people,  while  serving 
all  the  people.     It  is  impossible  to  give 

[3] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

identical  help  to  each  individual.  No 
church  has  any  business  to  be  more  impar- 
tial than  her  Master,  who  devoted  him- 
self to  those  whose  needs  were  critical,  and 
therefore  of  common  concern.  In  Christ's 
time  these  people  were  "the  prodigals," 
"the  lost  pieces  of  money,"  "the  lost  sheep." 
In  the  country  community  of  our  time  the 
church  should  serve  the  people  who  are 
in  danger  of  losing  out,  who  may  have  to 
leave  the  community.  These  are  the  sick, 
the  poor,  the  young  men  and  women,  old 
people  who  find  it  hard  to  be  "retired 
farmers,"  the  renters  who  till  land  they  do 
not  own,  the  people  who  are  in  debt,  and 
the  hired  or  foreign-born  help. 

The  purpose  of  social  service  is  to  min- 
ister to  the  whole  community,  the  rich  as 
well  as  the  poor,  the  learned  as  well  as 
the  ignorant.  The  ministry  to  the  poor,  or 
ignorant,  or  other  needy  persons  is  not 
given  them  because  one  prefers  the  ignorant 

[4] 


DEFINITIONS 


or  the  poor,  or  because  he  has  any  aversion 
to  the  rich  or  the  learned.  It  is  for  the 
reason  that  to  serve  the  poor  is  to  serve 
all.  To  teach  the  ignorant  is  to  help  the 
learned  and  to  heal  the  sick  is  to  minister 
at  the  same  time  to  the  well.  The  only 
way  to  minister  to  the  whole  community 
is  to  help  the  needy. 

To  assist  these  or  any  of  them  is  to  help 
everybody.  Service  of  these  is  "service  of 
all."  Whatever  church  helps  them  is  leader 
of  the  community,  because  to  satisfy  their 
needs  is  to  make  the  community  whole. 

A  certain  character  is  found  in  those 
who  join  a  serving  group  or  society.  With- 
out this  character  they  would  not  be  in  a 
community  church,  or  if  they  were,  they 
would  rebel  against  its  spirit  and  oppose 
its  methods.  This  character  is  found  per- 
fectly embodied  only  in  Jesus  Christ.  It 
is  the  spirit  of  a  consecrated  servant  whose 
master  is  God.    Every  Christian  man  might 

[5] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

well  ask  himself  whether  he  would  make 
a  good  servant;  whether  he  could  wait  on 
table,  take  orders  from  another  man; 
whether  he  could  cheerfully  hold  another 
man's  coat,  or  wash  his  feet.  Jesus  did 
such  things  and  his  spirit  has  been  called 
the  spirit  of  a  servant.  He  called  himself 
the  servant  of  God.  This  is  the  spirit  of 
the  members  of  a  community  church.  Held 
together  by  like-mindedness,  the  traits 
they  have  in  common  we  call  spirituality, 
for  theirs  is  the  spirit  which  is  found  in 
heaven,  as  we  know  heaven  through  the 
Son  of  God,  Jesus  Christ,  who  came  not 
to  be  served,  but  to  serve.  These  traits  of 
character  are  the  evidence  that  men  are  re- 
generate through  Christ. 

Knowledge  is  necessary  for  social  serv- 
ice, as  well  as  a  right  disposition.  For  the 
purpose  of  securing  reliable  knowledge 
social  surveys  are  made.  Investigation 
must  be  thorough  in  order  that  knowledge 
[6] 


DEFINITIONS 


may  be  accurate  and  reliable.  Further- 
more, the  findings  must  be  published  to 
all  who  are  to  take  part  in  the  service,  be- 
cause the  work  is  democratic  and  the  intel- 
ligent participation  of  every  Christian  is 
essential  to  the  result. 

There  never  was  a  time  when  full,  large 
Christianity  was  so  evidently  necessary  as 
now.  The  dependence  of  the  Christian 
Church  upon  education,  its  essential  rela- 
tion to  assured  and  ample  knowledge  of 
conditions,  is  exhibited  in  the  task  of  com- 
munity service  to  which  all  the  churches 
are  putting  their  hands.  The  social  force 
of  the  Christian  Church  can  be  exerted 
only  by  people  of  a  devout  spirit  conscious- 
ly giving  themselves  to  the  purposes  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  guided  in  their  action  by 
all  that  may  be  known  about  the  conditions 
and  the  needs  of  mankind  for  whom  the 
Savior  died. 

In  this  book  the  country  church  is  defined 

[7] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

as  the  church  in  a  community  of  less  than 
2,500  population.  Generally  these  com- 
munities have  farming  as  the  main  concern. 
Very  few  of  them,  except  in  mining  sections, 
depend  for  their  living  on  anything  except 
farming,  and  the  secondary  businesses  of 
farming.  So  that  the  country  church  is 
very  closely  associated  with  agriculture, 
both  in  the  village  and  in  the  open  fields. 


[8] 


II 


A  MODE  OF  RURAL  SURVEY  FOR 

RECORD  AND  FOR  PURPOSES 

OF  PRACTICAL  EXHIBIT 

SURVEY  is  the  name  for  a  systematic 
study  of  a  people,  with  a  view  to 
serving  them  as  they  have  need.  The 
people  studied  may  be  a  parish  or  com- 
munity; or  a  city,  county,  or  larger  social 
population.  The  survey  is  orderly  and  sys- 
tematic in  method,  comprehensive  in  the 
facts  studied,  so  that  nothing  is  left  out  of 
account.  Its  purpose  is  an  authoritative, 
reliable  report  which  will  put  an  end  to 
hesitation  and  will  render  helpful  service 
to  the  whole  community  possible.  It  is 
essential  to  a  survey  that  it  be  published, 
for  it  concerns  both  the  helpers  and  the 

[9] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

helped.      Social   service   is    always    demo- 
cratic and  public. 

There  are  two  purposes  of  a  Survey  and 
as  a  result  there  are  two  kinds  of  Survey. 
One  is  for  educational  purposes,  and  is  a 
study  of  conditions  well  known  to  the 
leader  of  a  class,  who  desires  through  in- 
vestigation to  train  and  enlarge  the  mind 
of  his  students.  A  good  example  of  this 
type  of  rural  survey  is  Miss  Anna  B. 
Taft's  ^'Community  Study  for  Country 
Districts."  An  excellent  method  of  sur- 
veying a  country  community,  especially  if 
it  centers  in  a  village  or  town,  is  entitled, 
''A  Method  of  Making  a  Social  Survey 
of  a  Rural  Community,"  which  is  pub- 
lished by  Prof.  C.  J.  Galpin  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin.  Each  of  these  is  so 
clear  and  simple  that  it  can  be  applied  to 
the  purposes  of  a  working  group  or  class 
in  a  country  church.  The  value  of  Miss 
Taft's  "Community  Study"  is  very  great 

[lO] 


A  RURAL  SURVEY 


in  religious  education.  It  should  be  used 
to  set  a  group  of  adults  at  work  in  the 
service  of  their  community. 

The  second  purpose  of  a  survey  is  rec- 
ord. This  type  of  survey  has  educational 
value,  but  its  main  purpose  is  to  record 
and  preserve  a  statement  of  the  conditions 
discovered  in  the  country  community,  in 
order  that  workers  in  the  service  of  the 
church  and  the  community  may  return  to 
this  record  for  reference  and  for  authority 
at  a  later  time.  We  give  in  this  chapter 
the  material  for  making  such  a  survey. 
(i)  A  Map  of  the  Community 
This  should  be  drawn  to  scale,  on  the  basis 
of  including  in  the  community  all  the  land, 
households,  business  and  social  institutions 
within  a  "team  haul"  radius  of  the  church, 
with  the  streams  of  water  and  highways, 
trolley  lines  and  railroads,  traversing  the 
community.  This  graphic  showing  of  the 
community,    with    every    institution    and 

[II] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

every  household  in  its  place,  will  do  much 
to  make  clear  the  problem  of  the  church 
in  the  country.  It  shows  the  whole  of  the 
domain  of  the  church,  which  is  a  part  of 

o'Srr"        Map  of  the  Community     s-^ 


L>UbrariM 


.  TraOcyi 


•  SakmnorHoul  ;||i;ij. 


[12] 


A  RURAL  SURVEY 


the  kingdom  of  God.  Nothing  is  secular, 
nothing  common  or  material  among  the 
possessions  of  God;  so  that  every  store, 
every  schoolhouse,  and  every  farmhouse  is 
a  part  of  the  parish  of  a  community  church. 
The  measured  areas  will  assist  in  draw- 
ing the  map  to  scale.  Symbols  on  the 
margin  should  be  used  to  indicate  the 
various  features  of  the  countryside. 

(2)  Industrial  and  Religious  Life 
What  is  the  chief  source  of  income  in  the  com- 
munity?      How  many  persons  are  en- 
gaged  in  it  ? How   many   members 

of  the  church  get  their  Hving  in  this  industry  ? . . . . 

Name  other  industries How 

many  are  engaged  in  each  industry  ? 

How  many  members  of  the  church  are  there  in 

each  of  these  industries  ? From 

which  industrial  group  does  the  church  fail  to  se- 
cure members  ? 

How  many  of  the  population  of  the  community 

are  old  settlers  ? What  proportion  of 

the  church-membership  is  from  this  class  ? 

How  many   foreign-born  or  of   foreign- 
born  parentage  ? How  many  church- 

[13] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

members  from  the  foreign  element  in  the  popula- 
tion?  

Among  the  farmers  what  proportion  own  their 

farms  ? What     proportion     of     the 

farmers  are  renters? What  propor- 
tion of  the  church-membership  are  farm  renters? 


(3)  Social  and  Moral  Life 

Name  in  the  order  of  their  popularity  the  places 
where  men  meet  for  informal  conversation ...... 

Where  do  boys  in  their  teens  meet  ? 

Name  the  public  assembly  or  gathering 

that  is  attended  by  the  community  in  a  body 

How  often  does  the  community  meet 

as  a  whole  ?. Who  is  the  most  influ- 
ential man  among  the  whole  population? 

....     What  is  his  occupation  ? Give 

the  number   of   families   in   the   community 

Give  the  number  of  social  gatherings  or 

recreational  enterprises  of  a  public  nature  in  the 

past    six   months What    proportion 

of    these    was    provided    by    lodges? 

The  Grange? Open  societies? 

The  clubs ?. Public  schools ? 

Churches  ? 

How  many  of  these  social  gatherings  were  pro- 
vided without  pay  ? How  many  were 

used  as  a  means  of  raising  money? 

[14] 


A  RURAL  SURVEY 


Name  the  forms  of  recreation  or  play  practised  in 

the   community Name   those   which 

are  morally    wholesome What    are 

the  churches  doing  to  increase  or  to  support  whole- 
some recreation  ? 

How  many  saloons  in  the  community? 

....      Pool    rooms  ? Public    dance 

halls  ? Moving  picture  shows  ? 

Theaters? 

How  many  arrests  in  the  past  twelve  months? 

Illegitimate  births  in  the  past  twelve 

months  ? What  centers  of  moral  in- 
fection?       Is    the   moral   tone   of   the 

community  improving  ? 

(4)      The  Church  and  the  Community 

Name  the  churches  in  the  community  and  state 

denomination W^hich  church  is  best 

fitted   in   building? Parsonage?.... 

Land? Seating  capacity? 

Kitchen  ? Parlors  ? 

Cemetery? Horse  sheds? 

or  other  equipment  to  serve  the  needs  of  the  com- 
munity?       Which  church  is  next 

in  point  of  fittings  or  equipment  ? 

Describe  the  financial  condition  of  each  church 
in  the  following  respects :    Total  amount  raised  for 

local    expenditures  ? Amount    paid 

pastor? Amount  given   for  benevo- 

[15] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

lences  ? Mortgage  on  property  ? . . . 

Amount  raised  from  outside  funds?. . . 


State   mode   used   by   each   church   for   raising 

money? Pew   rents? 

Envelopes  ? Plate  contributions  ? 

Give  membership  of  each  church 

Is  it  increasing  ? Give  attendance  of 

each  church Is  it  increasing? 

Give  membership  of  Sunday-school  of  each  church 


What  religious  service  is  needed  in  this  com- 
munity  which    no    church    provides  ? 

How  many  ministers  serve  in  the  community  ? . . . . 

Name  them,  giving  opposite  each  name 

the  number  of  Sundays  per  month  on  which  he 
preaches  in  the  community  and  place  of  residence 

of   the  minister Which   minister   is 

most  actively  interested  in  the  whole  community? 


[i6] 


Ill 

THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH 
PROGRAM 

THE  church  needs  a  program  nowa- 
days, because  religion,  which  is  as 
precious  in  men's  eyes  as  ever  it  was, 
has  changed  its  emphasis.  We  used  to 
have  a  religion  of  fear  and  its  program 
was  very  simple.  It  was  to  bring  men  out 
of  fear  into  comfort  and  confidence.  Men 
still  fear  the  unseen  and  the  old  program 
is  a  good  program,  but  the  sense  of  fear  is 
no  longer  so  mighty  as  the  sense  of  use 
or  value.  We  need  a  new  program  because 
the  church  has  nowadays  to  demonstrate 
its  value  and  to  increase  its  usefulness  to 
all  men. 
Worship  is  the  first  and  the  last  of  the 

[17] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

program  in  the  country.  The  purpose  of 
the  church  is  to  bring  men  near  to  God,  and 
worship  is  the  method  of  drawing  near  to 
God.  Orderly  worship  is,  above  all,  neces- 
sary to  the  country  church.  The  perfection 
of  details,  foresight  as  to  procedure  and 
dignity  in  the  public  service  of  worship, 
are  essential  to  all  good  work.  No  min- 
ister can  mend  throughout  the  week  what 
he  can  mar  on  the  Sunday  morning.  A 
church  does  not  need  to  be  liturgical  to  be 
reverent.  The  simplest  worshipers  are 
they  who  often  have  the  holiest  places  of 
worship,  and  convey  the  most  of  fear  and 
awe  and  love  in  their  public  services.  But 
before  any  program  of  active  service,  the 
orderly  worship  of  the  house  of  prayer  is 
to  be  regarded  as  the  minister's  chief  ser- 
vice. The  worship  of  the  Lord's  day  is  the 
highest  expression  of  community  life.  It 
is  the  privilege  which  the  minister  of  re- 
ligion shares  with  no  other  public  servant. 
[i8] 


COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

(i)  In  all  its  work  the  church  deals 
with  individuals.  Its  purpose  is  always  to 
bring  men  to  God,  through  obedience  to 
a  personal  Savior,  therefore  it  is  in  all 
things  an  evangelistic  and  educational  in- 
stitution. Every  church  should  regularly 
preach  the  gospel  of  personal  salvation.  It 
is  wise  to  let  no  year  pass  without  at  least 
one  season  of  evangelism.  Leading  pas- 
tors in  the  country  have  their  preferred 
times  for  spiritual  quickening.  We  recom- 
mend here  only  that  the  church  foresee  the 
time  of  its  evangel  and  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year  plan  for  a  harvest  of  souls.  In 
order  to  win  men  to  loyal,  obedient  service 
in  the  church,  which  is  ^'the  body  of 
Christ,"  it  is  better  that  the  pastor  be  the 
evangelist  and  that  the  work  be  done  by 
the  people  of  the  church  through  faithful, 
simple  preaching  and  personal  work. 

(2)  The  teaching  of  the  Bible  is  the 
greatest  means  of  conversion  through  the 

[19] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

building  of  personal  character.  The  Sun- 
day-school is  organized  for  this  purpose. 
It  should  be  taken  seriously  by  all  and  its 
work  done  in  no  slovenly  or  careless  man- 
ner, but  with  the  utmost  thoroughness.  The 
minister  himself  in  a  small  church  may 
well  be  the  superintendent.  This  is  his 
opportunity  to  teach.  He  should  certainly 
be  identified  with  the  school,  holding  him- 
self and  every  other  teacher  strictly  to  ac- 
count for  presence  or  absence.  Systematic 
and  thorough  methods,  with  classes  graded 
upon  the  public  school  standards,  should 
prevail  in  the  Sunday-school.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  work  is  to  bring  all  the  children 
naturally  through  the  development  of 
knowledge  along  with  the  growth  in  char- 
acter to  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  teaching  of  the  Bible  from  the  pul- 
pit in  simple  terms,  with  homely  illustra- 
tions from  the  farm,  from  nature,  and  from 
that  field  of  experience  common  to  the  an- 

[20] 


COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

cient  Hebrews  and  to  modern  country  peo- 
ple, is  essential  to  the  educational  service 
of  the  church. 

Family  prayer  should  be  diligently  or- 
ganized among  the  families  of  the  congre- 
gation. It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the 
family  altar  is  in  our  time  unnecessary  or 
that  it  cannot  be  set  up.  Canadian  churches 
are  alive  to  the  value  and  necessity  of  fam- 
ily w^orship.  There  are  churches  in  city 
and  in  country  throughout  all  North  Amer- 
ica in  which  as  large  a  proportion  of  the 
families  have  the  reading  of  the  Bible  and 
prayer  together  as  the  proportion  who  do 
thorough  Sunday-school  work.  These 
three  factors  in  the  teaching  of  the  country 
church  make  up  a  complete  program  of 
instruction,  and  the  basis  of  all  is  the  im- 
parting of  gospel  truth  to  the  growing, 
absorbing  mind  of  the  young. 

(3)  A  sound  financial  policy  is  relig- 
iously necessary  in  the  country  church.    It 

[21] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

is  a  part  of  piety  for  men  to  give.  We  are 
not  ashamed  that  our  civilization  has  much 
to  do  with  money.  Freedom  has  used 
finance  in  the  fight  against  tyranny,  and  the 
Protestant  doctrine  of  personal  salvation 
takes  form  in  the  Protestant  practise  of 
owning  personal  property.  We  are  not 
ashamed  of  our  thrift,  of  our  savings,  and 
of  our  ownership.  These  must  be  conse- 
crated in  a  deliberate,  systematic  doctrine 
and  scheme  of  finance  in  the  local  church. 

Farmers  are  beginning  to  prosper.  The 
days  of  poverty  are  nearly  over.  Founda- 
tions are  being  laid  for  a  thrifty  and  re- 
warding agriculture.  The  church  must 
lead  those  who  face  economic  revival,  in 
consecrating  the  new  prosperity  unto  the 
Lord.  The  Bible  is  full  of  this  doctrine  of 
giving  the  ''first  fruits'^  and  of  ''laying  by" 
upon  the  first  day  of  the  week.  The  coun- 
try church,  which  has  been  an  inexpensive 
institution  with  no  budget,  the  object  of 

[22] 


COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

little  care  or  attention,  must  be  sanctified 
and  redeemed  to  a  divine  use  by  a  better 
system  of  finance.  In  all  the  leading 
churches,  with  substantial  unanimity  as  to 
method,  financial  campaigns  are  proposed. 
It  is  our  place  here  only  to  insist  that  regu- 
lar and  appropriate  payment  unto  the  Lord 
is  essential  to  rural  religion. 

Great  advance  is  made  in  these  days  in 
the  adoption  of  the  Budget  System  by 
country  churches.  Notable  gains  are  re- 
ported from  Canadian  churches.  The 
farmers  are  beginning  to  consecrate  the 
prosperity  w^hich  is  coming  to  them  to  the 
Lord.  The  close  relation  w^hich  may  not 
exist  betv^een  economic  prosperity  and 
spirituality  does  maintain  itself  between 
economic  prosperity  and  church  growth. 
When  good  people  do  well  their  churches 
thrive:  and  as  the  church  has  much  to  do 
with  prosperity  we  may  expect  that  higher 
levels  of  personal  religion  will  be  attained 

[23] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

through  the  consecration  of  economic  ad- 
vance in  the  country  church. 

(4)  The  country  church  should  have 
a  part  in  moral  reform.  American  country 
churches  have  transformed  the  temperance 
movement,  which  once  was  purely  a  per- 
sonal appeal  to  "sign  the  pledge,"  into  a 
war  upon  organized  vice  which  makes  its 
home  in  the  saloon.  The  country  church 
in  this  demonstrated  its  social  power.  It 
showed  itself  to  be  an  organization  serving 
society.  The  temperance  movement  has 
been  a  gallant  crusade  for  the  rescue  of  the 
community  from  the  grip  of  the  saloon. 

There  are  other  reforms  to  which  the 
country  church  should  give  its  attention. 
None  is  beneath  the  notice  of  the  church 
if  it  concerns  the  whole  of  the  community 
or  of  the  commonwealth.  Nothing  is  alien 
to  Christianity  which  has  to  do  with  hu- 
manity. If  God  wants  a  thing  done,  the 
church  ought  to  lead  in  doing  it.    For  this 

[24] 


COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

reason  the  church  has  taken  a  great  part 
in  the  country  life  movement,  which  is  a 
social  enterprise  for  the  rescue  of  the  coun- 
try community  from  decadence. 

(5)  The  church  in  the  country  should 
remember  its  allies  and  keep  close  to  them 
in  mutual  service.  These  are  the  common 
schools,  the  Grange,  neighborhood  and 
community  associations,  and  all  societies  or 
movements  for  betterment  or  for  charity, 
justice,  good  citizenship,  or  other  good 
cause.  He  that  doeth  righteousness  is  of 
God,  and  all  societies  for  well-doing  are  the 
church's  kin.  They  should  often  visit  the 
meeting-house.  The  church  should  al- 
ways be  loyal  to  them,  should  never  ostra- 
cize them,  and  at  least  once  a  year  should 
appear  with  each  of  them  in  public. 

(6)  The  country  church  should  be  a 
community  center.  There  is  no  other  in- 
stitution universal  among  farmers  and 
freely  supported.  The  church  diflfers  from 

[25] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

the  school,  which  has  the  support  of  gov- 
ernment, in  that  grown  up  people  use  it 
seriously.  The  grown-up  interests  of  the 
community,  therefore,  ought  to  have  a 
place  in  the  church.  Nothing  of  a  univer- 
sal character  is  unworthy.  To  be  a  lead- 
ing church  means  to  be  "servant  of  all," 
and  this  universal  usefulness  lays  a  great 
duty  on  the  church.  It  is  then  the  one 
institution  in  which  the  community  has 
a  home.  And  where  else,  unless  it  be  in  the 
schoolhouse,  should  it  be  at  home?  This 
universal  service  is  the  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem of  church  comity  or  federation.  The 
one  way  to  unite  the  whole  community  in 
religious  matters  is  to  serve  needs  common 
to  all.  Some  of  these  needs  will  appear 
in  the  features  of  the  program  which  are 
to  follow. 

(7)  The  church  in  the  country  should 
provide,  or  at  least  endorse,  a  community 
policy  of  recreation.     Nobody  else  in  the 

[26] 


COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

country  is  doing  so,  except,  in  some  places, 
the  country  school,  which  has  a  similar 
duty.  Recreation,  or  organized  play,  is  a 
necessity  in  a  working  community.  It  is 
as  necessary  that  a  working  community 
play  together  as  it  is  that  a  workingman 
shall  sweat.  We  must  respect  the  spirit  of 
play  just  as  much  as  we  respect  perspira- 
tion. It  is  as  unhealthy  to  be  without  one 
as  it  is  to  be  without  the  other.  Many 
country  churches  have  undertaken  delib- 
erately to  direct  and  to  provide  the  recrea- 
tions needed  in  the  community.  What  a 
noble  word  recreation  is!  It  indicates  in 
its  very  syllables  that  we  are  taking  part  in 
the  work  of  God.  We  are  refreshing  and 
renewing  the  tired  body  and  mind.  Fur- 
thermore, recreation  has  a  moral  power. 
Play  is  only  bad  when  it  is  opposed  by 
good  people.  It  is  on  the  playground  that 
children  learn  welcome  lessons  in  telling 
the  truth,  in  honorable  treatment  of  one  an- 

[27] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

other,  in  obeying  one  another,  and  in  self- 
sacrifice  for  a  common  end.  The  country 
needs  leaders  and  it  is  in  play  that  we  first 
discover  leaders.  Therefore,  because  play 
trains  the  conscience  and  organized  play 
trains  the  citizen  and  disciplines  the  young 
soldier,  the  church  should  see  that  needful 
facilities  for  play  are  provided  in  the  com- 
munity. It  may  be  that  the  school  will  take 
charge  of  the  playground.  It  may  be  that 
some  public-spirited  citizens  will  see  that 
the  young  people  are  cared  for,  but  the 
church  should  be  custodian  of  the  problem 
of  recreation,  because  play  has  so  much 
to  do  with  right  and  wrong.  The  school 
is  the  home  of  the  intellect,  but  the  church 
is  the  home  of  the  conscience.  Therefore, 
recreation  is  the  business  of  the  church. 

Some  communities  have  done  their  duty 
by  celebrating  the  holidays  of  the  year  as 
great  play  days.  We  have  not  nearly  so 
many  holidays  as  the  Hebrews,  and  those 

[28] 


COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

who  object  to  holidays  because  they  take 
people  from  work  must  have  forgotten  that 
God  Almighty  made  the  Jews  a  rich  and 
industrious  and  devout  nation  through  a 
training  in  which  feasts,  holidays,  outdoor 
picnics,  living  in  booths,  and  going  on  ex- 
cursions occupied  a  great  place  every  year. 
The  solemn,  historical  events  of  the  year 
are  celebrated  by  the  Jews  in  festivals  of 
joy.  All  these  feasts  bring  the  whole  peo- 
ple together.  Families  are  reunited,  rela- 
tives exchange  visits  and  presents,  and  the 
cares  of  business  are  laid  aside.  If  we  are 
going  to  make  the  Americans  a  great  peo- 
ple, we  will  have  to  use  many  holidays  as 
a  method  in  the  process,  and  the  harder  we 
work  the  more  holidays  we  need. 

Dramatic  entertainments  occupy  an  in- 
creasing place  in  the  country.  The  church 
may  well  take  charge  of  these  herself,  as 
for  many  centuries  in  the  simple  life  of 
medieval  Europe  the  churches  did.     The 

[29] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

Christmas  play  is  a  good  way  of  showing 
the  Christmas  spirit  for  the  whole  com- 
munity. It  freshens  up  the  gospel  story 
and  puts  it  in  modern  dress.  Everybody 
comes  to  such  a  play;  Roman  Catholic  and 
Protestant,  rich  and  poor.  Usually  dra- 
matic entertainments  are  easier  to  provide 
than  musical  entertainments,  and  they  are 
more  popular.  More  people  can  under- 
stand them  and  take  part  in  them. 

(8)  The  country  church  should  be  a 
learner  in  the  new  science  of  agriculture. 
When  God  was  making  a  people  he  taught 
them  to  possess  a  land.  The  Hebrews  were 
made  a  holy  nation  in  part  by  the  agricul- 
tural teaching  of  Deuteronomy.  Scientific 
agriculture  is  a  modern  commentary  on 
Deuteronomy.  It  is  the  knowledge  and  the 
imperative  given  by  God  Almighty  for  the 
possession  of  the  soil  by  those  who  work 
it.  The  church  has  no  need  as  a  rule  to 
teach  agriculture,  nor  does  the  American 
t3o] 


COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

church  need  to  set  up  a  school  of  soils  and 
silos  and  animal  husbandry,  for  this  teach- 
ing is  provided  by  the  universities  and  by 
the  government.  But  the  church  should 
provide  the  spirit  in  which  this  knowledge 
shall  be  used. 

For  that  reason  the  minister  and  the  peo- 
ple must  be  students  of  agriculture.  The 
same  zeal  which  the  ministers  have  put  in 
the  past  into  the  study  of  ''the  promised 
land"  in  Palestine  should  be  put  upon  the 
study  of  the  promised  land  in  America;  for 
the  American  farmer  is  taking  possession 
of  his  promised  land  just  as  the  Hebrews 
were  doing  in  the  time  of  Joshua  and  of 
Samuel,  and  he  has  as  hard  a  fight  against 
modern  Philistines  as  they  had.  When 
country  people  are  praying  for  the  posses- 
sion of  land  they  need  a  church  to  help 
them. 

Therefore  it  is  often  a  good  thing  to  hold 
a  farmers'  institute  in  a  church.     It  is  a 

[31] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

far  better  thing  for  minister  and  people  to 
indicate  clearly  the  duty  that  man  owes  to 
the  soil,  and  the  responsibility  of  those  who 
till  the  soil  to  the  whole  people.  The  main 
purpose  in  all  of  this  should  be  that  the 
people  of  the  country  church  shall  be  good 
farmers.  Indeed,  if  the  church  is  to  sur- 
vive in  the  country,  it  must  be  true  in  the 
future  as  in  the  past,  that  the  members  of 
the  church  of  Christ  are  the  best  farmers 
in  the  community.  This  is  necessary,  be- 
cause the  land  in  the  country  is  passing  into 
the  hands  of  better  farmers  and  out  of  the 
possession  of  poorer  farmers. 

(9)  The  country  church  must  maintain 
its  alliance  with  the  country  school.  Prot- 
estants have  as  a  rule  no  parochial  schools, 
and  that  fact  shows,  not  that  they  disbe- 
lieve, but  that  they  believe  in  the  school. 
Christianity  is  dependent  on  education.  It 
is  an  expression  of  intelligence  applied  to 
the  problem  of  religion.    The  religion  of 

[32] 


COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

Jesus  Christ  differs  from  other  religions  in 
knowledge  and  in  sound  convictions.  This 
is  why  Christ's  advent  could  occur  only 
"when  the  fulness  of  the  time  came." 

The  Protestant  churches,  which  do  not 
have  parochial  schools,  are  deliberately 
committed  to  the  public  school.  They  must 
not,  therefore,  abandon  the  public  school 
and  forget  their  dependence  upon  it.  If 
they  do  and  if  the  public  school  is  aban- 
doned by  good  people,  the  churches  will 
perish,  for  in  the  end  Protestantism  and 
Christianity  are  dependent  for  their  form 
and  their  maintenance  upon  trained  intelli- 
gence. Protestant  congregations  are  de- 
pendent for  their  continuance  upon  ade- 
quate public  schools. 

But  we  cannot  directly  control  the  pub- 
lic school  as  the  Roman  Catholic  priest  con- 
trols the  parochial  school.  All  the  more 
spiritual  must  be  our  alliance  with  it.  The 
church  must  train  its  people  in  those  ideas 

[33] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

of  education  which  will  result  in  good  com- 
mon schools.  The  minister  must  be  alive 
and  alert  to  the  modern  development  of  ed- 
ucation. His  contribution  to  the  commun- 
ity by  indirect  means  and  the  obedience  of 
his  people  to  the  higher  principles  of  educa- 
tion as  these  are  tried  and  proved  have  an 
essential  place  in  the  program  of  the  rural 
church. 

(lo)  The  rural  church  must  direct  its 
work  to  the  winning  of  the  marginal  mem- 
bers of  the  community.  This  is  essential 
to  a  social  ministry.  In  order  to  reach  the 
whole  community  those  who  are  in  jeop- 
ardy, or  whose  permanence  in  the  commun- 
ity is  in  question,  must  be  won.  It  is  not 
so  necessary  for  the  church  to  seek  the  rich, 
or  the  devout,  or  the  morally  strong.  Let 
them  give  of  their  gifts  and  contribute  of 
their  resources  to  the  church.  But  the  poli- 
cies of  the  church  in  the  country  must  be 
framed  with  the  intention  of  reaching  the 

[34] 


COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

tenant  farmer,  the  laborer,  and  the  young 
people  of  the  community;  and  with  them 
any  others  who  in  a  particular  community 
are  struggling,  or  discouraged,  or  likely  to 
give  up. 

(ii)  Curiously,  the  most  important 
thing  of  all  is  that  the  country  church 
should  take  its  own  denomination  seri- 
ously. There  is  a  slovenly  and  indolent  way 
of  looking  upon  the  rural  congregation  as 
if  it  did  not  matter  whether  it  cooperated 
with  the  organized  life  of  its  denomination 
or  not.  But  the  country  church  is  a  part 
of  a  great  religious  society.  If  it  is  a 
Methodist  church,  it  should  be  organized 
under  the  authority  of  the  Bishop,  the 
Superintendent,  and  the  Boards  of  the 
church.  Its  policies  should  be  obedient  to 
the  great  purposes  of  the  denomination.  If 
it  is  Presbyterian,  it  can  only  be  injured — 
it  cannot  at  all  be  helped — by  permitting 
it  to  be  independent  of  Presbytery.  If  it 
[35] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

is  Baptist,  it  ought  to  affiliate  itself  in 
hearty  cooperation  with  the  organized  ac- 
tivities of  the  Baptist  denomination.  Each 
church  must  work  in  harmony  with  the 
methods  of  the  organization  on  which  it 
depends  for  its  living.  Mongrel  churches 
which  show  a  mixture  of  several  denomina- 
tions in  their  ways  of  work  belong  to  no 
order  of  religion  and  are  weaker  than  any. 
In  a  wide  study  of  country  churches  it  has 
been  found  that  in  the  greatest  number  of 
instances  the  churches  which  are  well  or- 
ganized, according  to  the  manner  and  form 
of  their  denomination  and  according  to  the 
general  plans  and  proposals  of  Christian 
men  in  our  time,  prove  to  be  the  best 
churches. 

(12)  For  a  particular  population  the 
church's  program  will  be  specially  adapted. 
As  an  illustration  we  add  a  program  of 
church  work  which  is  being  used  in  a  cer- 
tain group  of  churches. 

[36] 


COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

A  PROGRAM   FOR  RURAL  CHURCHES 

Looking   toward   a    Forward    Movement    in 

These  Churches  During  the  Coming 

Year  along  the  Following  Lines  : 

L  THE  FEEDING  OF  THE  FLOCK,  or  the 
building  up  of  the  members  of  the  church  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  Word  of  God  and  strengthening 
them  in  the  Christian  life. 

The  Means  to  he  Employed 

I.     Preaching 

The  preaching  services  in  many  rural  churches 
are  few  and  far  between,  once  or  twice  a  month. 
The  most  possible,  therefore,  should  be  made  of 
these  services  by  working  out  carefully,  beforehand, 
each  order  of  service,  so  that  the  congregation  may 
proceed  In  a  worshipful  manner.  The  effectiveness 
of  many  a  good  sermon  is  spoiled  by  a  bungling 
opening  and  closing  exercise,  beginning  late  and 
dragging  through  the  service  in  a  loose  slipshod 
way. 

Care  should  be  used  in  selecting  appropriate 
hymns,  one  of  which  at  least  should  carry  the 
theme  of  the  sermon.  Let  the  organist  and  choir 
have  the  hymns  early  in  the  week  preceding  the 
preaching  services. 

,  It  is  a  decided  advantage  to  have  the  congrega- 
tion stand  during  the  singing  of  the  hymxus.    This 

[37] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

rests  the  people  and  helps  to  put  them  in  better  tune 
for  listening  to  the  sermon. 

2.  Pastoral  Visitation 

Let  every  home  be  visited  at  least  twice  a  year, 
and  oftener  if  possible,  giving  special  attention  to 
the  sick. 

No  pastor  should  have  favorite  families  to  whose 
homes  he  runs  often. 

Let  the  pastor's  calls  be  purposeful  and  not  too 
long. 

Aim  to  see  and  have  a  word  with  every  member 
of  the  family  before  leaving  the  home  even  though 
it  involves  a  trip  to  the  field  for  a  word  of  greeting 
with  the  boy  behind  the  plow. 

The  pastor's  visitation  may  be  supplemented  by 
the  assistance  of  a  well-selected  visiting  committee 
of  men  and  women,  including  the  officers. 

3.  The  Sunday  School 

For  greater  efficiency  and  thoroughness  the  fol- 
lowing things  are  recommended: 

(i)  Occasional  teachers'  meetings  with  the 
church  officers  for  conference  and  prayer. 

(2)  The  organization  of  a  Cradle  Roll  and 
Home  Department. 

(3)  The  organization  of  the  young  people's 
classes  for  definite  social  service,  one  for  the  young 
men  and  one  for  the  young  women,  where  no  other 
young  people's  organizations  exist. 

(4)  The  observance  of  at  least  the  following 

[38] 


COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

special  days :  Children's  Day,  Thanksgiving,  Christ- 
mas, Easter,  and  Rally  Day,  taking  the  customary 
offerings  on  these  occasions  as  recommended  by  the 
Church  Boards. 

(5)  Have  a  series  of  ten-minute  talks  on  the 
purpose  of  each  of  the  several  boards. 

4.  The  Bible  in  the  Home 

Seek  to  install  the  practise  of  daily  Bible  read- 
ing by  the  family  together  in  the  homes,  using  the 
selections  of  Scripture  given  in  the  Sunday  School 
Quarterlies  for  daily  reading. 

5.  Prayer 

Where  a  regular  mid-week  prayer-meeting  at 
the  church  is  not  practicable,  cottage  prayer-meet- 
ings are  recommended. 

It  is  an  excellent  plan,  occasionally,  to  precede 
the  sermon  with  an  informal  prayer  and  praise  serv- 
ice instead  of  using  the  regular  formal  opening 
service. 

6.  Woman's  Missionary  Society 

A  society  should  be  organized  in  communities 
where  none  exists,  for  the  study  of  missions,  for 
fellowship,  and  for  service.  It  may  be  combined 
with  the  Aid  Society. 

7.  Religious  Literature  in  the  Home 

(i)  A  religious  weekly  and  missionary  maga- 
zine. Earnest  effort  should  be  put  forth  to  place 
a  religious  weekly  and  missionary  magazine  in  every 
home. 

[39] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

(2)     The  leaflets  from  the  various  Boards. 

8.  A  Christian  Training  Class 

Pastors  and  officers  are  urged  to  begin  Christian 
classes  for  the  children  between  the  ages  of  eight 
and  fourteen  years.  Saturday  afternoons  through 
the  summer  season  is  a  good  time  for  the  class  to 
meet. 

9.  An  Every  Member  Canvass 

using  the  individual  pledge;  the  double  budget 
recommended.  Annual  church  rally  to  follow  this 
campaign. 

II.    EVANGELIZATION 
The  Means  to  be  Employed 

I.     Preaching 

(i)  Part  of  the  regular  preaching  services 
should  be  evangelistic  in  their  nature  and  an  invi- 
tation given.  Have  a  special  revival  campaign  for 
a  number  of  weeks  preceding  Thanksgiving  Day, 
or  Easter,  possibly  from  the  first  of  January  and 
culminating  on  Easter  Sunday,  in  which  all  the 
regular  preaching  services  are  evangelistic.  Dur- 
ing this  period  encourage  the  members  of  the  church 
to  do  personal  work  and  to  invite  those  not  in  the 
habit  of  church  attendance  to  come  to  the  meetings, 
and  also  to  visit  people  in  their  homes. 

(2)  Occasional  evangelistic  meetings  in  the 
schoolhouses  on  Sunday  afternoons  in  the  winter 

[40] 


COUNTRY  CHURCH  PROGRAM 

season  or  in  a  grove  in  the  summer-time  in  which 
laymen  and  the  young  people  participate  largely. 

(3)  Special  revival  meetings  by  an  evangelist 
if  thought  best. 

2.  Mission  study  in  connection  with  the  Sunday- 
school,  the  young  people's  organizations,  and  the 
woman's  missionary  society. 

3,  Offering  for  missionary  work.  (Not  in  addi- 
tion to  the  regular  offerings  for  benevolences  and 
the  special  offerings  taken  in  the  Sunday-school  on 
special  days.) 

4.  Pastoral  Visitation,  and  Personal 
Work  by  Church  Officers  and  Teachers. 

III.     SERVICE  TO   THE   COMMUNITY 
THROUGH    CHURCH    FORCES 

See  that  at  least  one  popular  meeting  is  held  in 
the  community  during  the  year  in  the  interests  of 
the  five  following  causes,  providing  the  initiative 
is  not  taken  by  any  other  agency  than  the  church 
to  do  this  work.  In  that  case  the  church  is  to 
cooperate : 

1.  Education    of    the    Young    through    the 

Public  Schools. 

2.  Better  Farming   (Rural  life  institute). 

3.  Good  Roads. 

Have  a  good-roads  day  when  everybody  turns 
out  to  do  some  practical  work  on  a  given  piece  of 
road,  the  different  crews  meeting  at  a  central  place 

[41] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

at  the  noon  hour  for  dinner  with  a  good-roads 
speech  by  some  competent  person,  if  possible.  Suit- 
able literature  in  the  shape  of  bulletins,  tracts,  and 
other  literature  should  be  distributed  from  time  to 
time  on  these  subjects. 

4.  Recreation.    See  that  there  is  sufficient  whole- 

some entertainment  and  recreation  provided 
in  the  community  for  old  and  young. 

5.  Music.    Do  something  special  during  the  year 

toward  developing  the  musical  talent  of  the 
community. 
It  is  urged  that  a  record  be  kept  of  all  efforts 
put  forth,  with  the  results  obtained  at  certain  dates. 


[42] 


IV 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  SOCIALIZED 
RURAL  CHURCH  WORK 

TO  illustrate  the  principle  of  organ- 
ized Christian  work,  examples  of 
churches  that  have  made  good  in  the  coun- 
try are  given  here.  No  attempt  is  made 
to  praise  or  promote  these  churches;  they 
are  named  as  sign-posts  to  guide  the  reader 
in  the  way  of  community  service  in  the 
country. 

A  successful  church  in  the  country  wears 
no  label  of  being  rural.  It  does  not  adver- 
tise farming.  It  is  just  a  church  in  a  high 
state  of  efficiency.  For  while  every  church, 
urban,  rural,  or  foreign,  reflects  the  social 
environment  with  the  utmost  precision,  its 
own  message  is  in  all  lands  and  places  the 

[43] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

same.  The  greater  its  efEciency,  the  more 
perfectly  does  it  exhibit  the  signs  of  a  gospel 
institution,  a  religious  association,  a  society 
of  spiritual-minded  people. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  no  at- 
tempt is  made  here  to  enumerate  the  suc- 
cessful churches  or  to  give  any  estimate  of 
the  proportion  of  country  churches  that  il- 
lustrate the  theme.  None  is  mentioned, 
however,  whose  minister  or  people  are  not 
in  a  position  to  advise  others  as  to  the  suc- 
cess and  value  of  community  service  in 
their  experience. 

The  extremes  of  community  service  are 
evangelism,  on  the  one  hand,  and  economic 
teaching,  on  the  other.  Very  few  country 
churches  render  community  service  by  mere 
evangelism.  Neither  do  many  country 
ministers  serve  the  community  as  teachers 
of  agriculture,  although  it  is  perfectly  ob- 
vious that  the  evangelistic  spirit  and  the 
sympathetic  relation  of  the  minister  to  the 

[44] 


SOCIALIZED  RURAL  WORK 

farmer  in  his  economic  struggle  are  essen- 
tial to  community  service. 

An  example  of  evangelistic  rural  church 
work  is  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
at  Alexandria,  Licking  County,  Ohio, 
which  has  made  it  a  business  to  ^'discover, 
win,  and  find  a  place  for  every  natural 
leader."  The  work  of  this  church  is  per- 
sonal work.  In  one  revival  campaign  158 
members  were  added  to  the  church.  The 
Brotherhood  of  the  church  has  '^the  glad 
hand"  as  a  motto.  The  Rev.  Karl  B.  Alex- 
ander is  the  minister. 

An  instance  of  agricultural  leadership, 
among  the  few  in  which  ministers  have 
taught  their  people  how  to  farm,  is  that  of 
a  church  in  Saint  Anthony,  Du  Bois 
County,  Indiana.  The  rector  undertook, 
with  the  advice  of  an  agricultural  professor 
in  a  state  university,  to  transform  the 
agricultural  methods  of  his  people.  Six 
years  of  diligent  study  and  constant  experi- 

[45] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

mentation  and  discussion  resulted  in  a  re- 
vision of  the  methods  of  tilling  the  soil;  a 
transformation  of  the  farm  economy  from 
dependence  upon  grain  to  a  dependence 
upon  fruit  culture. 

Ministers  generally  agree  with  econo- 
mists like  Prof.  Thomas  Nixon  Carver, 
in  holding  that  the  service  of  the  church  in 
the  country  should  be  social  rather  than 
economic.  While  the  two  cannot  be  kept 
strictly  apart,  the  church  is  generally  held 
to  be  a  social,  not  an  economic,  institution. 
It  has  to  do  with  the  people,  rather  than 
the  property,  in  the  country.  The  Meth- 
odist and  Presbyterian  churches  in  Bellona, 
New  York,  have  recognized  this  in  their 
union  to  form  a  farmers'  club.  The  original 
members  of  this  club  were  the  ministers 
and  church  officers  of  the  two  congrega- 
tions named,  which  divide  the  field  between 
them.  Women  as  well  as  men  have  been 
admitted  to  the  club,  and  from  the  first  its 
[46] 


SOCIALIZED  RURAL  WORK 

discussions  have  taken  a  high  plane  of  in- 
terest. Cornell  University  professors  have 
been  among  the  most  frequent  speakers  to 
address  the  club.  Their  topics  have  been 
as  a  rule  economic  and  the  studies  made  by 
the  club  have  to  do  with  the  preservation 
of  the  soil,  the  marketing  of  farm  products, 
as  well  as  with  the  social  problems  of  the 
family,  the  school,  the  church,  and  general 
questions  of  patriotism  and  mental  culture. 
This  club  has  been  of  great  spiritual  In- 
fluence. By  means  of  it  the  two  churches 
have  each  had  access  to  the  central,  social 
life  of  the  community.  All  the  people  of 
the  countryside  have  become  through  this 
club  potentially  members  of  each  church 
and  both  pastors  have  had  full  access  to  the 
whole  population.  The  Rev.  T.  Maxwell 
Morrison,  Bellona,  New  York,  is  the  pastor 
longest  in  service  who  knows  about  this 
work. 

The    Harmony    Methodist    Protestant 

[47] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

Church,  in  Ravenwood,  Missouri,  called 
as  its  pastor  about  five  years  ago  a  young 
minister,  the  Rev.  C.  R.  Green.  He  under- 
took to  live  with  his  people  in  the  country, 
eight  miles  and  a  half  from  town.  They 
paid  at  that  time  an  insufficient  salary.  One 
result  of  his  ministry  has  been  an  ample 
and  satisfactory  support  for  the  minister 
and  a  house  for  him  to  live  in.  The  church 
recently  had  207  members.  The  work  has 
proceeded  along  lines  of  social  develop- 
ment. Whatever  the  community  needed 
as  a  relaxation  from  labor,  as  a  diversion 
in  the  loneliness  and  isolation  of  farm  work, 
as  a  means  of  emotional  and  esthetic  culture 
to  compensate  for  the  tedium  and  common- 
place in  life,  this  church  has  seen  fit  to 
supply.  The  social  life  of  the  young  people 
has  been  a  large  factor  in  Mr.  Green's 
work.  His  own  labor  as  a  pastor  and  his 
residence  among  his  people  have  been  large 
contributions    to    the    warmth    and    sym- 

[48] 


SOCIALIZED  RURAL  WORK 

pathy  and  social  growth  of  the  countryside. 
Many  organizations  have  been  created  to 
satisfy  the  needs  of  the  people.  Among 
other  things  a  brass  band  of  twenty-six 
pieces  is  maintained  in  this  rural  congrega- 
tion. A  crowning  tribute  to  the  social  and 
intellectual  capacity  and  to  the  fine  culture 
of  this  congregation  was  given  last  summer, 
when  the  leading  men  who  support  the 
Chautauqua  Assembly  in  Ravenwood  asked 
the  Harmony  Church  to  take  two  days  in 
the  Chautauqua  and  to  provide  the  pro- 
gram. The  congregation  accepted  service 
for  one  whole  day,  came  into  town  in  a 
body  and  provided  music,  speakers,  and 
other  talent  for  the  full  day's  program.  On 
account  of  the  long  drive  it  was  not  thought 
best  to  take  the  second  day,  but  the  adven- 
ture gave  heart  and  happiness  to  the  rural 
church  and  taught  them  how  far  they  had 
already  gone  in  the  development  of  com- 
munity life. 

[49] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

Instances  of  the  relation  of  the  country 
church  to  the  country  school  are  many. 
Churches  near  Petersburg,  Illinois,  are 
mentioned,  not  because  they  alone  illus- 
trate this  relation,  but  because  they  have 
done  something  distinctive.  The  Rev.  H. 
O.  Tribbe,  pastor  of  the  Free  Baptist 
Church  in  the  country  near  Petersburg,  is 
teacher  at  the  same  time  of  the  common 
schools.  His  v^ork  as  minister  does  not  in- 
terfere w^ith  his  school-teaching,  nor  is  his 
experience  as  a  teacher  ignored  in  his  work 
as  pastor.  In  the  Sunday-school  of  his 
church  graded  lessons  are  used  and  children 
are  graded  according  to  their  attainments 
in  the  common  school  grades,  so  that  the 
children  meet  on  the  Sabbath  day  and  study 
v^ith  their  v^eek-day  companions. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  at  Rock  Creek, 
Illinois,  occupies  a  peculiar  relation  to  the 
public  school.  Formally  it  has  no  relation 
to  it,  for  of  course  church  and  school  are 

[50] 


SOCIALIZED  RURAL  WORK 

separate  in  all  American  communities.  But 
in  the  parish  of  this  church  there  is  no 
other  congregation,  so  that  the  people  in 
several  school  districts  are  Presbyterians. 
A  definite  influence,  therefore,  has  been 
exerted  upon  the  schools  by  the  men  of  one 
congregation.  Several  years  ago  these  lead- 
ing men  felt  the  force  of  the  exodus  from 
the  country.  They  consulted  as  to  methods 
for  arresting  this  movement  to  the  city  and 
the  town.  The  chief  reason  of  their  interest 
was  the  impoverishment  of  church  and 
family  life  by  the  departure  of  prosperous 
and  desirable  neighbors.  Attempts  were 
made  to  select  a  desirable  class  of  renters 
who  should  settle  on  the  land.  Ultimately 
this  discussion  narrowed  down  to  the  im- 
provement of  the  public  schools.  Three 
districts  were  consolidated  and  the  result 
has  been  most  happy.  The  exodus  from 
the  countryside  has  been  arrested,  owners 
and  tenants  who  come  into  the  neighbor- 
[SI] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

hood  do  so  by  preference  and  at  some  ex- 
pense to  themselves,  because  land  is  of 
higher  value  and  rents  for  more  money  as 
a  result  of  the  improved  schools.  This  ex- 
perience of  the  Rock  Creek  church  has 
been  a  typical  illustration  of  the  close  rela- 
tion between  church  and  school,  for  these 
substantial  farmers,  descendants  of  the 
earliest  settlers,  realized  keenly  the  neces- 
sity of  good  schools  if  their  church  v^as  to 
be  maintained  in  the  countryside  and  if 
other  churches  were  to  be  excluded  from 
the  parish  bounds  in  which  their  church 
had  been  so  long  a  community  center.  Now 
church  and  manse  and  consolidated  school 
stand  side  by  side  in  the  open  country. 

Music  is  so  religious  a  thing  that  it 
should  have  a  place  by  itself.  No  other 
form  of  culture  is  absolutely  necessary  if 
the  people  be  trained  in  church  to  sing. 
Gomer  Congregational  Church,  in  Allen 
County,   Ohio,   has   for  years,   under   the 

[52] 


SOCIALIZED  RURAL  WORK 

leadership  of  Mr.  George  W.  Williams, 
cultivated  the  best  music.  A  choir  of  be- 
tween fifty  and  a  hundred  voices  can  be 
assembled,  and  regularly  throughout  the 
year  music  is  rendered  of  a  quality  rarely 
heard  in  the  country.  People  travel  in  the 
summer  months  from  near-by  cities  to  hear 
and  enjoy  the  singing  at  Gomer  Church. 
This  instance  of  esthetic  culture  as  a  form 
of  social  service  illustrates  what  the  church 
must  do  to  make  life  worth  while  to  people; 
to  keep  them  from  the  discouragement  and 
revulsion  which  come  of  commonplace  ex- 
periences and  material  labor.  Life  must 
be  given  grace  and  the  Sundays,  as  well  as 
the  evenings  and  mornings  of  the  day,  must 
be  filled  in  some  manner  with  beauty. 
Idealism  must  be  had  if  men  are  to  live 
and  to  live  together.  For  this  reason  the 
churches  which  have  cultivated  music  in 
an  exceptional  degree  are  illustrious  under 
the  head  of  community  service. 

[53] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

A  fine  example  of  the  centering  of  a 
spiritual  life  for  a  whole  community  in  a 
church  is  seen  in  the  Disciple  Church  at 
Hiram,  Portage  County,  Ohio.  So  well- 
rounded  is  the  work  of  this  church  that  one 
cannot  state  its  service  in  a  single  proposi- 
tion. Hiram  College  and  community  pur- 
sue their  labors  together  throughout  the 
week  and  worship  together  in  the  Disciple 
Church  on  the  Lord's  day.  Every  interest 
of  the  community  meets  here.  All  the  life- 
blood  of  the  college  and  of  the  town  flows 
in  and  out  of  the  auricle  and  ventricle  in 
this  beating  heart.  An  excellent  building 
and  a  large  membership,  a  minister,  the 
Rev.  John  E.  Pounds,  awake  to  every  intel- 
ligence of  the  learned  and  every  need  of 
the  most  humble,  make  eminent  a  church 
too  well  organized  to  be  classified  save  that 
it  is  the  center  of  the  community. 

The  Sunday-school  should  by  every  line 
of  probability  be  the  working  center  of  the 
[54] 


SOCIALIZED  RURAL  WORK 

church,  especially  in  the  country.  In  the 
United  Brethren  Church  of  Old  Fort, 
Seneca  County,  Ohio,  this  is  true.  The 
Sunday-school  is  large  enough,  with  a 
membership  of  231,  to  be  a  power,  but  its 
strength  is  not  in  mere  numbers.  It  is  ex- 
cellently organized  and  its  work  centers  in 
a  course  for  teacher-training.  Thirty-seven 
members  of  the  school  have  graduated  from 
the  standard  course.  Last  year  there  were 
eleven  members  in  the  third-year  class  of 
the  advanced  teachers'  training  course  about 
to  complete  their  studies.  On  the  last 
Decision  Day  twenty-three  members  of  the 
Sunday-school  joined  the  church.  The 
adult  Bible  class  is  a  dynamic  for  evangel- 
ism. Mr.  C.  C.  Drown,  a  business  man  of 
Old  Fort,  has  charge  of  the  teacher-training 
class  and  to  him  much  credit  is  due  for  the 
organization  of  this  efficient  school  at  the 
heart  of  a  serviceable  church. 

In   selecting   an   illustrious    instance   of 

[55] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

financial  ministry  the  place  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church  is  significant.  In 
Cedarville,  Green  County,  Ohio,  is  a  church 
of  this  denomination  which  has  an  eminent 
financial  system.  The  church  publishes  a 
directory  and  financial  statement  each  year, 
in  which  are  given  the  names  of  the  mem- 
bers and  the  amount  contributed  toward 
salary  and  incidentals,  with  the  amount  also 
opposite  each  name  contributed  by  that 
member  toward  missions  and  benevolences. 
Contributions  no  larger  than  five  cents  from 
children  are  fully  itemized.  The  result  is 
that  of  the  total  receipts  in  the  last  year 
reported  of  $6,500,  only  $2,050  went  to  the 
congregational  expenses,  and  toward  mis- 
sionary interests  $2,859  were  contributed. 
The  Mission  Boards  received  from  this 
church  $10.25  P^^  member.  In  the  same 
year  an  amount  equal  to  $1,400  was  con- 
tributed for  decoration  and  improvement 
of  the  church  property,  yet  without  special 

[56] 


SOCIALIZED  RURAL  WORK 

subscription  for  these  extra  expenses.  The 
pastor,  the  Rev.  James  S.  M.  McMichael, 
is  sympathetic  with  the  life  of  the  young 
people  and  has  served  as  coach  on  college 
and  high-school  teams.  Cedarville  is  a 
village  w^ith  three  churches  in  a  population 
of  one  thousand. 

A  brilliant  example  of  the  rounded  suc- 
cess in  a  country  church  which  comes  to  a 
minister  and  a  people  as  a  result  of  taking 
all  phases  of  life  into  the  circle  of  religion, 
is  found  in  Buckhorn,  Kentucky.  In  a  little 
more  than  ten  years  the  Rev.  Harvey  S. 
Murdock  has  built  up  a  community  church 
under  conditions  in  which  most  men  fail. 
His  results  in  evangelism  are  in  excess  of 
those  in  any  church  of  the  same  denomina- 
tion in  Kentucky.  Indeed  there  are  few  in 
the  country  which  have  proportionately  in- 
creased so  much.  But  the  "two  arms  of 
evangel  in  Buckhorn  are  baseball  and 
the  fight  against  illicit  whisky."  Buckhorn 
[57] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

is  in  the  mountains  of  Kentucky,  not  far 
from  the  famous  Breathitt  County  in  which 
feuds  and  law-breaking  seem  perennial. 
But  at  Buckhorn  the  whole  of  life  is 
brought  under  the  influence  of  religion. 
People  are  taught  to  farm.  The  very  corn 
and  the  hogs  are  taught  to  improve.  The 
young  people  are  encouraged  to  play. 
Public  games  entice  the  young  men  away 
from  evil  influences.  A  college  with  an 
enrolment  in  hundreds  stands  side  by  side 
with  the  church.  All  the  needs  of  the 
countryside  are  met,  and  so  far  as  possible 
satisfied,  in  a  wholesome  community  life. 
Because  the  needs  are  acute  and  even  tragic 
in  Buckhorn  the  church  has  wrought  a  great 
success,  which  should  be  the  greater,  rather 
than  the  less,  in  communities  where  the 
same  needs  are  in  a  commonplace,  rather 
than  in  a  tragic,  form. 

In  the  great  Middle  West,  "the  granary 
of  the  world,"  along  with  the  improvement 

[58] 


SOCIALIZED  RURAL  WORK 

of  farming  to  meet  the  needs  of  a  greater 
population,  where  scientific  agriculture  is 
getting  its  fullest  use  and  cooperative  action 
of  farmers  is  becoming  general,  distin- 
guished country  churches  are  found  in 
numbers.  If  the  church  may  keep  pace 
with  the  development  of  better  farming  her 
future  is  assured.  Without  the  parallel  de- 
velopment of  the  church  the  improved 
farming,  because  it  is  more  profitable  to  a 
few,  will  result  in  a  commercial  spirit  and 
a  dispersed  farm  population. 

In  DeKalb  County,  Illinois,  is  the  Suy- 
dam  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  to 
which  the  Rev.  Willis  Ray  Wilson  came 
as  pastor  four  years  ago.  This  church  is 
nearly  six  miles  from  the  pastor's  residence 
in  Leland,  and  in  it  his  rural  congregation 
has  a  service  of  worship  and  preaching 
every  Sunday,  and,  as  it  is  the  only  church 
in  Victor  township,  it  has  in  its  congrega- 
tion the  representatives  of  five  denomina- 

[59] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

tions.  The  new  minister  began  his  work 
with  a  Sunday-school  contest,  the  results  of 
which  amazed  the  countryside.  At  a  final 
service  the  meeting-house  was  packed  and 
there  was  a  congregation  of  equal  size  out- 
of-doors,  so  that  the  pulpit  was  moved  to 
the  front  porch  for  the  occasion.  An  ag- 
gressive evangelistic  campaign  followed, 
and  promptly,  in  the  order  which  country 
ministers  love,  the  church  began  to  enlarge 
her  interests.  Corn  contests,  with  prizes, 
were  held  and  a  baking  contest  for  the 
ladies.  A  farmers'  institute,  with  speakers 
seldom  heard  in  such  meetings,  followed, 
and  during  the  winter  months  entertain- 
ments, home  talent  plays,  discussions  of 
woman's  suffrage,  of  consolidated  schools 
and  other  humane  problems,  with  lectures. 
Holiday  entertainments  filled  the  season  of 
rural  leisure.  A  country  problem  class 
studied  during  the  winter  the  rural  situa- 
tion, both  local  and  national.    In  the  sum- 

[60] 


SOCIALIZED  RURAL  WORK 

mer  a  great  community  picnic  is  held  for 
all,  with  a  'Afield  day";  the  men  visiting  in 
a  body  different  fields  for  the  comparative 
study  of  fertilizers  in  use.  The  women  are 
organized  as  well  as  the  men  and  the  chil- 
dren. The  pastor  has  a  ready-made  point 
of  contact  device  by  which  he  commends 
himself  to  the  hired  men,  in  the  form  of  a 
husking-peg,  which  he  carries  in  his  pocket. 
Throughout  the  fall  months  he  frequently 
uses  it  as  a  calling-card  upon  the  tenant  or 
hired  man  new  to  the  community. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  the  minister  of  this 
church  declines  to  leave,  for  he  realizes  that 
the  country  church,  when  dignified  with 
the  whole-hearted  service  of  a  whole  man 
and  inspired  with  the  spirit  of  the  Master, 
is  a  great  success  and  a  more  satisfying  field 
of  work  than  is  the  town  or  city.  The  secret 
of  Mr.  Wilson's  success  at  Leland  and  at 
Suydam  churches  is  systematic  and  sym- 
pathetic service  among  his  people. 
.       [6i] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

An  equally  interesting  church  in  the 
country  is  at  Osceola,  in  Stark  County, 
Illinois.  Here  the  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
church  has  given  six  years  to  the  service  of 
a  people  of  whom  only  eighty  live  in  the  vil- 
lage. His  satisfaction  has  come  in  the  re- 
ward of  his  belief  that  the  '^rural  commun- 
ity must  be  the  one  big  place  in  which  he 
may  serve  Jesus  Christ."  He  believes  his 
people  "worthy  of  his  best  effort,  and  the 
question  is  not  ^Is  this  job  big  enough  for 
me?'  but  ^Am  I  big  enough  for  this  job?'  " 
The  magnifying  of  the  country  church  by 
the  pastor  at  Osceola,  whose  name  is  Bart- 
lett  Eugene  Allen,  takes  the  form  of  de- 
veloping not  merely  personal  character, 
which  indeed  is  the  main  business  of  the 
church,  but  also  the  social  environment, 
and  the  centering  of  all  social  activity  in 
the  church.  His  ministry  has  been  bold  to 
appreciate,  not  merely  the  psychology,  but 
the    sociology,    of    the    place.      In    other 

[62] 


SOCIALIZED  RURAL  WORK 

words,  the  greatness  of  the  country  church 
in  his  eyes  is  the  statesmanship  growing 
out  of  personal  service.  Careful  plans  are 
made  for  social  activities.  The  church 
enters  heartily  into  every  community 
gathering.  There  is  a  Fourth  of  July 
parade  and  plenty  of  fun,  with  a  basket 
dinner,  visiting,  sports,  and  a  baseball 
game.  In  an  article  on  "Community  Build- 
ing" the  minister  says,  "This  one  thing  I 
would  make  plain,  that  I  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  the  church  must  run  everything 
in  the  social  line,  but  it  must  so  radiate  the 
spirit  of  Christianity  that  all  the  social 
functions  and  the  very  life  of  the  com- 
munity will  have  a  healthy  moral  tone." 
Mr.  Allen  believes  in  making  the  church 
big  enough  for  the  man.  "The  Illinois 
farmer  does  big  things  in  a  business  way, 
and  if  the  church  is  to  reach  him  and  to 
convert  him  to  a  better  community  life, 
it  must  be  big  enough  to  have  a  place  in 

[63] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

his  time  and  to  appeal  to  his  sense  of 
strength."  He  believes  in  recognizing  the 
rural  intelligence  and  appealing  to  the 
brain  and  the  energy  of  the  Middle  West 
farmer.  Mr.  Allen's  views  among  those 
of  ministers  are  the  same  as  Prof.  Carver's 
economic  interpretation  of  the  farmer. 
These  men  agree  that  the  American  farmer 
likes  big  machinery,  large  plans,  adventur- 
ous purposes,  and  that  to  convert  him  to  a 
community  service  he  must  be  harnessed  to 
great  enterprises.  Mr.  Allen  says,  'T  know 
of  no  place  where  the  results  of  real  active 
work  for  the  Master  are  so  sure  and  certain 
as  out  in  the  country  ministering  to  those 
who  live  in  the  open,  who  toil  and  sow, 
breathing  God's  pure  air  and  depending  on 
nature  to  reward  them  with  a  bountiful 
harvest.  They  naturally  live  nearest  to 
God,  consequently  respond  most  readily  to 
his  appeals." 

At  Fowler,  Kansas,  there  is  a  Christian 

[64] 


SOCIALIZED  RURAL  WORK 

church  with  a  membership  of  one  hundred 
and  eighty  in  a  population  of  less  than 
seven  hundred  people,  having  three  other 
Protestant  churches.  The  development  of 
this  church  has  been  due  to  the  zeal  and 
intelligent  efifort  of  Mrs.  Mason  and  of  the 
pastor,  the  Rev.  John  W.  Jones.  Its  prog- 
ress has  resulted  from  plans  they  made  in 
order  to  satisfy  the  obvious  need  of  a  relig- 
ious and  social  center.  Two  lines  of  de- 
velopment are  found  in  this  church.  The 
Sunday-school  is  well  organized.  Each 
class  is  an  independent  society,  with  officers 
and  committees,  and  good-natured  rivalry 
prevails  throughout  the  Sunday-school. 
Prizes  are  offered  and  the  sporting  spirit  is 
not  despised,  for  the  contests  between  classes 
sometimes  are  terminated  in  a  banquet  pro- 
vided by  the  losers.  The  school  does  not 
despise  genial  methods  which  some  think 
beneath  the  dignity  of  religious  people. 
The  other  characteristic  of  this  church 

[65] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

is  a  cordial  and  sympathetic  social  spirit. 
The  church  offers  opportunity  for  good 
times  in  music,  entertainments,  and  social 
meetings,  which  have  many  occasions 
throughout  the  year.  There  is  an  organized 
choir  meeting  every  Tuesday  evening,  on 
occasion  furnishing  special  'music.  There 
is  even  a  junior  choir  and  of  the  little  boys 
a  quartet.  Apparently  this  church  believes 
in  organization  and  an  office  for  every  one 
in  v^hich  he  may  serve  the  community 
through  some  assigned  part  in  the  common 
purposes  of  the  church. 

Another  church  in  the  "corn  belt''  is  the 
Presbyterian,  at  Edgington,  Illinois.  The 
minister,  the  Rev.  A.  G.  Stewart,  has  been 
influential  in  forming  the  Edgington  Rural 
Progressive  Club,  which  held  a  two-days' 
farmers'  institute  during  the  worst  blizzard 
of  February,  1914,  with  an  average  attend- 
ance of  forty-five  persons.  Every  speaker 
was  a  specialist.  Such  problems  were  dis- 
[66] 


SOCIALIZED  RURAL  WORK 

cussed  as  consolidated  schools,  community 
social  life,  newspaper  publicity,  and  the 
opportunities  for  girls  at  the  state  univer- 
sity. Good  roads  were  so  thoroughly  dis- 
cussed that  a  resolution  was  passed  for 
bonding  the  country  to  secure  funds  for 
good  country  roads.  The  relation  of  these 
economic  and  social  improvements  to  relig- 
ion is  more  evident  in  the  country  than 
elsewhere.  Farmers  do  not  need  to  have 
explained  to  them  why  the  evangelist  who 
preaches  about  heaven  on  Sunday  shall  pre- 
side at  a  meeting  for  good  roads  on  Mon- 
day. ^'The  kingdom  of  God  has  come  near 
unto  you"  in  the  country,  more  near  than 
in  the  cities  where  life  is  divided  and  relig- 
ion is  alien  to  many  material  interests. 
Generally  throughout  the  United  States 
the  churches  which  are  succeeding  in  the 
country  and  holding  their  own  are  marked 
by  broad  sympathies,  humane  leadership, 
full  possession  of  the  gospel  message  as  it 

[67] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

is  taught  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
and  all  these  are  assured  by  the  residence 
of  a  pastor  in  the  country  among  his  people 
— a  man  whose  heart  is  open  and  sympa- 
thetic to  every  need  of  the  countryside. 


[68] 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  RURAL 
CHURCH  BUILDINGS 

IN  the  day  of  extension,  which  in  most 
of  the  states  is  at  an  end  so  far  as  the 
open  country  is  concerned,  church  build- 
ings were  erected  having  only  one  room. 
The  present  needs  require  in  the  country  a 
church  building  of  a  composite  and  elabo- 
rate form.  It  should  fit  the  community,  as 
the  community  grows,  just  as  a  garment  fits 
the  growing  form  of  a  child.  Radical 
changes  in  clothing  come  in  the  life  of  a 
child,  and  a  radical  change  has  come  to 
the  country  church,  requiring  a  structure 
for  worship  suited  to  the  composite  and 
elaborate  needs  of  the  community. 

These  needs  are  many  in  the  service  of 

[69] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

the  most  conservative  type  of  religion. 
Their  number  is  increased  when  one  re- 
gards the  church  as  a  community  force.  In 
the  country  there  are  so  few  social  forces 
at  work  in  an  organized  form  that  the 
church  is  charged  with  more  numerous 
responsibilities  even  than  in  the  city.  It  is 
the  only  free  institution  universal  among 
country  people.  In  every  region  where 
farmers  have  settled  they  have  erected 
churches  without  the  help  of  government, 
by  their  own  choice,  so  that  the  church  is 
an  exponent  of  the  feeling  and  of  the  will 
of  country  people  as  no  other  institution  is. 
It  has  the  most  valuable  tradition  and  it 
inherits  the  most  inspiring  conceptions  of 
community  life.  Lodges  do  not  feel  re- 
sponsible for  the  whole  community. 
Schools  are  charged  with  a  service  to  the 
children  alone.  But  the  church  recognizes, 
toward  the  whole  population,  a  duty  to 
render  the  most  public  and  open  service. 

[70] 


RURAL  CHURCH  BUILDINGS 

In  all  building  or  erecting  of  churches 
it  is  important  that  the  advice  be  asked  of 
those  who  know  how  to  design  and  to  build. 
Ministers  and  church  officers  are  seldom 
trained  as  architects  or  as  builders,  and  the 
church  should  be  a  thing  of  beauty  as  well 
as  of  use.  For  the  sake  of  both  use  and 
beauty  the  advice  of  an  architect  should  be 
secured. 

The  rebuilding  of  the  rural  house  of 
worship  is  upon  the  mind  of  many  congre- 
gations and  their  ministers.  We  present 
in  this  chapter  the  plan  of  one  such  church, 
which  combines  the  elements  entering  into 
a  great  number  of  reconstructed  country 
churches.  It  is  the  Du  Page  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Du  Page,  Illinois,  of  which  the 
Rev.  Matthew  Brown  McNutt  was  pastor. 
The  story  of  its  reconstruction  has  been  told 
in  his  pamphlet  ''Modern  Methods  in  the 
Country  Church."  It  is  published  here  be- 
cause the  plans  could   easily  be  secured. 

[71] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

Other  country  churches  contain  the  same 
elements.  This  one  has  a  sufficient  appeal 
to  the  community  to  illustrate  the  whole  of 
the  problems  arising  out  of  country  life. 

The  Du  Page  Church  is  a  rebuilt  country 
church.  The  former  building,  having  but 
one  room,  was  used  in  the  new  structure, 
its  walls  being  utilized  in  the  construction 
of  the  Sunday-school  portion  of  the  new 
building.  This  building  furnishes  means 
of  ministry  to  the  whole  community  in  edu- 
cational, social,  musical,  and  athletic  direc- 
tions, and  all  these  kinds  of  ministry  are 
coordinated  with  the  central  fact  of  wor- 
ship, to  the  uses  of  which  the  main  part  of 
the  new  structure  is  devoted. 

The  Du  Page  Church  is  best  understood 
by  one  who  comes  to  it  on  a  wintry  day 
from  a  long  drive  in  the  country.  Com- 
fortable sheds  are  provided  for  the  farmers' 
horse  or  horses;  and  when  he  enters  the 
church  the  farmer  himself  finds  a  warm 

[72] 


RURAL  CHURCH  BUILDINGS 

cloak-room  beside  the  doorway,  in  which 
he  may  leave  his  heavy  outdoor  garments. 
At  the  end  of  the  service  or  entertainment 
he  will  find  them  dry  and  comfortable. 
During  his  time  in  the  church  building 
they  do  not  encumber  the  seat  he  occupies. 
A  similar  cloak-room  is  furnished  for  his 
wife. 

If  small  children  come  to  the  church  a 
room  is  provided  in  the  farthest  corner 
from  the  auditorium,  in  which  are  rocking- 
chairs  and  a  comfortable  bed  always  made 
up  for  the  little  children.  Here  a  mother 
may  rock  her  baby  to  sleep,  and  leave  the 
child  during  the  entertainment  or  the  serv- 
ice of  worship.  Sometimes  six  little  chil- 
dren have  occupied  this  room  at  one  time. 
The  walls  of  this  room  are  tastefully  deco- 
rated with  attractive  pictures  of  mothers 
and  children. 

The  chief  feature  of  the  Du  Page  Church 
is   the   plain   and   simple   auditorium   for 

[73] 


Pldy  Room 

Dinin(5  Hall 

Social  Room 

Unejxcav^ated 

and 

Primary  Dept. 

./„„! 

Furnace 

u 

r—^'iX 

"'^"^'^      ■m.T 

^^ 

Cistern  1 

FLOOR  PLANS  OP  THE  DU  PAGE  CHURCH 


[74] 


RURAL  CHURCH  BUILDINGS 

worship.  While  not  reserved  exclusively 
for  public  worship,  this  meeting-place 
makes  a  peculiar  appeal  to  the  devotional 
spirit.  People  who  come  in  even  on  a  week- 
day are  accustomed  to  sit  down  quietly  as 
in  a  cathedral.  The  wonted  use  of  this  room 
has  made  its  impression  upon  the  whole 
countryside.  In  all  the  experience  of  the 
Du  Page  Church,  with  entertainments, 
musical  events,  Sunday-school,  and  church 
services,  there  has  been  singularly  little 
cause  for  complaint.  A  peculiarly  high 
sense  of  reverence  is  associated  with  the 
place  of  worship. 

Opening  on  the  side  of  the  auditorium  by 
sliding  doors  is  a  Sunday-school  room, 
which  may  be  made  an  extension  of  the 
church  auditorium.  At  one  end  of  this 
structure  are  large  classrooms.  At  the  other 
end,  nearest  to  the  road,  are  the  mothers' 
room  and  a  cloak  room. 

On  either  side  of  the  pulpit  recess  is  a 

[75] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

small  room;  one  for  the  choir  and  one  for 
the  minister.  Du  Page  Church  has  made 
a  great  deal  of  musical  culture.  Partly  be- 
cause of  the  gifts  and  training  of  the  former 
minister  and  his  wife  and  partly  because 
of  the  capacities  of  their  people,  a  large 
place  has  been  occupied  in  the  development 
of  this  church  by  music.  Singing  classes 
and  public  entertainments  with  music  as  a 
central  source  of  pleasure  and  education 
have  been  many.  The  history  of  the  church 
shows  how  great  a  place  in  the  social  de- 
velopment of  the  community  may  be  occu- 
pied by  music.  One  is  reminded  of  the  use 
of  music  in  the  ancient  development  of  the 
church,  both  in  medieval  times  and  in  the 
inspired  history  of  the  Hebrews. 

In  the  basement,  under  the  old  structure, 
there  is,  in  addition  to  an  adequate  heating 
plant,  a  dining-room  with  kitchen  at  hand 
for  the  use  of  the  ladies.  This  room  is 
simple   and   strongly   made,    with    cement 

[76] 


RURAL  CHURCH  BUILDINGS 

floor,  so  that  while  it  is  used  on  occasion  for 
a  church  dinner  without  disturbance  of  the 
main  parts  of  the  building,  it  may  be  used 
as  well  for  an  evening  game  by  the  young 
people,  or  a  place  of  winter  indoor  sports 
by  the  boys  of  the  community.  Without 
the  building  are  adequate  grounds  on  which 
the  young  people  of  the  community  have 
had  much  pleasure.  The  residence  of  the 
minister  is  near  by  in  a  manse  owned  by  the 
church,  so  that  Du  Page  Church  has  a  suit- 
able plant  capable  of  ministering  in  any  way 
to  the  needs  of  the  whole  community.  At 
times  the  congregation  has  appropriated 
for  evangelistic  meetings  and  for  public 
religious  services  in  which  the  young  people 
and  men  of  the  community  have  taken  part 
a  grove  not  far  from  the  church.  Indeed 
the  whole  countryside  has  been  made  tribu- 
tary to  this  church  because  of  its  force  and 
its  appeal  to  the  whole  community. 

Du  Page  Church  contains  in  its  building 
1.77} 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

every  feature  most  essential  to  the  develop- 
ment of  community  life.  The  building  is 
not  thought  perfect  and  in  other  communi- 
ties a  different  adaptation  might  need  to 
be  made,  but  for  an  open  country  church 
it  has  in  a  large  measure  the  facilities  and 
the  means  necessary  for  community  service. 
The  reconstruction  of  the  old  building  was 
accomplished  at  a  cash  expenditure  of  ten 
thousand  dollars,  the  whole  of  which  was 
contributed  within  the  community.  The 
building  was  dedicated  without  debt.  Of 
this  church  the  Rev.  Arthur  Amy  is  pastor. 


[78] 


VI 

THE  TOWN  OR  VILLAGE  CHURCH 

IN   LEADERSHIP  OF 

COUNTRY  LIFE 

THE  village  is  not  an  alien  in  the 
country,  but  it  is  the  rural  capital. 
Cities  are  of  a  different  order  of  life,  but 
villages  are  of  the  rural  order.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  village  is  to  buy  and  sell  with 
country  people.  The  residents  of  the  vil- 
lage are  of  the  same  stock  as  those  who 
till  the  farm.  The  increase  or  the  decrease 
of  village  population  is  identical  with  that 
of  the  open  country.  The  concerns — social, 
economic  and  religious — of  the  village  are 
the  concerns  of  the  open  country.  There- 
fore the  village  church  should  have  a  great 
place  in  the  leadership  of  country  life. 

[79] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

By  the  village  in  this  connection  we 
mean  a  center  of  population  not  greater 
than  twenty-five  hundred  in  number.  There 
are  some  places  that  come  within  the  mean- 
ing of  this  chapter  where  even  more  people 
dwell,  and  some  population  centers  of  less 
than  twenty-five  hundred  have  no  real 
connection  with  the  country,  because  they 
have  to  do  with  mining  or  manufacture. 
Bearing  these  exceptions  in  mind,  the  rule 
described  is  helpful  in  understanding  the 
relation  of  the  village  to  the  open  country. 

Unfortunately  village  churcheshave  be- 
come alienated  from  the  country.  The  re- 
lation of  the  city  church  to  the  open  country 
has  been  thought  of  and  the  fact  that  the 
village  is  the  capital  of  country  life  has 
been  forgotten.  But  the  city  church  has 
troubles  enough  of  its  own.  It  has  the  in- 
finitely difficult  problem  of  immigration. 
It  has  the  down-town  and  the  working- 
man's  problem.  Questions  of  moral  weight 
[8ol 


VILLAGE  LEADERSHIP 

which  do  not  trouble  the  open  country,  ex- 
cept indirectly,  have  made  impact  upon  the 
city  church.  The  village  church  should  con- 
cern itself  with  the  country,  as  it  seldom 
does.  As  a  rule,  around  the  villages  and 
towns,  which  are  centers  of  the  economic 
life  of  the  farmer,  there  is  a  zone  usually 
two  to  four  miles  in  width  in  which  people 
generally  do  not  go  to  church.  They  have 
no  relation  to  the  village  churches  which 
stand  beside  the  stores  where  they  trade. 
The  churchgoer  turns  away  from  the  village 
or  town  to  worship  in  some  obscure  rural 
meeting-house  or  more  often  to  worship  not 
at  all.  The  village  too  often  repels  the 
farmer. 

The  sources  of  this  alienation  are  not 
wholly  religious.  Around  village  and  town 
and  small  city  has  been  built  an  economic 
wall,  which  must  be  broken  down,  if  the 
farmers  are  to  feel  at  home  in  the  village 
and  town.  There  must  be  many  lines  of 
[8i] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

connection  and  intercourse  before  worship 
can  become  the  crowning  expression  of 
unity  among  those  whose  life  centers  in  the 
village. 

Brilliant  examples  of  the  ministry  of  the 
church  in  the  village  or  the  open  country 
are  found  in  all  sections  of  the  country, 
though  their  total  number  is  small.  Dr. 
Silas  E.  Persons,  Presbyterian  minister 
for  twenty  years  in  Cazenovia,  New  York, 
was  one  of  the  first  to  see  that  his  church 
had  lost  its  rural  attendance.  The  road 
to  the  church  from  a  neighboring  sec- 
tion of  farms,  which  used  to  bring  twenty 
families  on  Sunday  morning,  in  recent  years 
was  found  to  bring  only  three  to  church. 
Dr.  Persons  began  his  ministry  to  the  coun- 
try by  holding  meetings  in  schoolhouses. 
He  found  an  amazing  response  to  the 
simple  preaching  of  the  gospel  among  a 
people  who  for  some  strange  reasons  had 
been  denied  its  privileges  for  a  generation. 

[82] 


VILLAGE  LEADERSHIP 

So  large  and  so  promising  were  the  results 
that  the  policy  of  his  church  had  to  be 
revised  to  fit  the  new  tasks  and  responsi- 
bilities. 

Dr.  Persons  and  his  people  went  about 
the  task  with  characteristic  thoroughness. 
Social  meetings  were  devised,  dinners  of 
welcome  and  other  social  occasions,  for  the 
particular  purpose  of  welcoming  the  new 
converts  to  the  village  church.  They  were 
made  to  feel  at  home.  They  were  received 
not  into  formal  membership  alone,  but  into 
the  heartiest  share  in  the  church  so  near  the 
center  of  their  social  and  economic  life. 
These  measures  went  forward  throughout 
a  whole  year,  while  new  districts  in  the 
country  were  invaded  by  the  preacher, 
seeking  to  give  the  gospel  to  those  who  at- 
tended no  church.  The  crowning  act  of 
unifying  the  community  in  Cazenovia  was 
the  annual  fair  established  in  September 
as  a  meeting-place  of  all  interested  in  the 

[83] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

community.  An  exhibit  of  everything  done 
and  made  in  the  communit}^,  plowing  con- 
tests, quilting  competitions,  sports  on  land 
and  water,  engaged  the  attention  of  all  the 
people  of  the  community.  Nothing  has 
been  for  sale.  The  event  has  become  a 
great  gathering  of  the  people  of  Cazenovia 
and  vicinity.  The  first  year  the  attendance 
was  to  be  counted  in  hundreds,  but  after 
that  in  thousands. 

The  Rev.  H.  S.  Mills,  of  Benzonia, 
Michigan,  is  a  Congregational  minister  to 
whom  the  enlargement  of  his  parish  came 
almost  as  a  vision,  after  years  of  service  in 
a  village  where  cultured  and  privileged 
people  of  the  countryside  live.  His  expe- 
rience is  related  in  the  book.  The  Making 
of  a  Country  Parish:  A  Story.  Going  out 
first  among  the  rural  dwellers  beyond  the 
normal  bounds  of  his  congregation,  he  spent 
days  and  weeks  in  exploration  of  the  relig- 
ious needs  of  people  outside  the  zone  of 

[84] 


VILLAGE  LEADERSHIP 

the  village.  He  came  back  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  need  of  a  larger  unit  of 
life  and  worship  in  his  church.  His  people 
engaged  with  him  in  a  consecrated  effort  to 
extend  the  parish  bounds  beyond  their 
traditional  radius.  They  undertook  with 
him  increasing  burdens.  They  released 
him  from  local  service  for  the  larger  ad- 
venture. Persistent  effort  to  evangelize  the 
countryside,  from  which  men  had  not  been 
accustomed  to  go  to  church,  brought  such 
real  results  that  the  whole  life  and  program 
of  the  Benzonia  church  was  changed. 

Allies  came  to  the  church  and  its  minister 
from  two  quarters.  The  missionary  super- 
intendent of  his  own  denomination  offered 
him,  after  considering  the  matter,  an  assist- 
ant. Later  another  assistant  was  added, 
with  the  growth  of  the  work.  This  gave 
an  adequate  parish  force.  With  fine  or- 
ganizing ability  the  minister  of  the  Ben- 
zonia church  has  been  able  to  accomplish 

[85] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

five  times  as  much  with  three  pairs  of  hands 
as  he  was  able  to  do  with  one.  A  second 
alliance  of  the  parish  came  in  the  form  of 
cooperation  with  a  neighboring  denomina- 
tion, which  gave  up  to  the  Benzonia  church 
certain  preaching  points  within  its  larger 
parish,  receiving  in  return  a  corresponding 
surrender  in  another  field  at  a  distance. 
This  left  to  the  church  with  enlarged  vision 
a  great  open  territory  in  which  it  could 
render  cathedral  service. 

The  results  have  been  very  great  both  in 
the  way  of  unifying  the  countryside  under 
a  common  religious  leadership  and  in  the 
way  also  of  increase  in  attendance  and  in 
contributions  in  the  Benzonia  church  itself. 

In  a  village  in  the  East  where  there 
are  three  churches  the  problem  of  de- 
generacy in  the  outlying  locality  became 
very  acute ;  so  much  so  that  the  moral  tone 
of  the  village  was  impregnated  to  an 
alarming  degree.  To  meet  this  situation 
[86] 


VILLAGE  LEADERSHIP 
the  churches  of  the  village  came  together 
in  a  Social  Service  League,  recognizing 
their  common  problem.  Two  near-by  vil- 
lages in  the  same  township  joined  with 
them.  A  social  worker  was  engaged. 
Through  this  medium  an  excellent  work 
was  done.  While  not  under  the  direction 
of  the  churches  exclusively,  the  work  was 
promoted  by  them,  and  thus  they  were 
brought  together  in  a  form  of  federation 
that  made  a  unity  of  spirit  in  bettering  the 
village  conditions  that  was  invaluable. 

Every  village  church  should  have  a  pro- 
gram of  service  to  the  people  of  the  open 
country.  Many  churches  in  the  village 
will  find  that  if  they  minister  with  accept- 
ance to  the  farmers  dwelling  along  the 
country  roads,  they  will  thereby  win  the 
villagers  dwelling  along  the  village  streets. 
We  suggest  the  following  brief  program 
for  the  village  church. 

(i)   Persistent  annual  evangelization  of 

[87] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

the  open  country  at  meetings  in  school- 
houses,  in  which  the  pastor  shall  have  the 
assistance  of  teams  of  laymen  who  shall  go 
out  with  him  or  by  themselves  to  speak,  to 
testify,  and  to  teach,  in  Sunday-schools  and 
religious  meetings  in  the  open  country. 
Unused  church  buildings,  schoolhouses  or 
farmhouses,  or  in  the  summer  open-air 
places,  may  be  used  for  these  meetings.  The 
purpose  in  them  all  is  to  build  up,  not 
primarily  local  congregations,  though  these 
in  some  places  may  follow,  but  to  build  up 
the  village  church  by  gathering  into  its 
membership  the  people  of  the  open  country. 
(2)  In  order  to  bridge  the  chasm  between 
the  village  and  the  country  deliberate 
methods  of  socialization  are  necessary.  The 
people  of  the  country  will  not  feel  at  home 
in  the  village  church,  if  they  have  been 
alienated  from  it,  without  special  modes  of 
welcoming  them.  It  is  not  enough  to  as- 
semble groups  of  converted  people  in  the 
[88] 


VILLAGE  LEADERSHIP 

country,  and  to  receive  them  into  member- 
ship. It  is  profoundly  important  that  they 
be  made  members  of  the  local  church  and 
brought  into  working  and  vital  union  on 
Sunday  with  those  with  whom  they  trade 
throughout  the  week. 

For  this  purpose  a  series  of  celebrations 
of  the  holidays  of  the  year  is  commended. 
The  village  should  be  the  center  of  com- 
memorating the  great  days  of  the  church 
and  the  secular  year.  Days  that  are  set 
apart  by  the  state  and  by  the  Church  may 
well  be  made  the  occasion  of  the  gathering 
of  all  the  people  from  the  countryside.  If 
they  are  foreigners  this  is  a  good  method  of 
Americanization.  If  they  are  hard-worked, 
these  holidays  will  bring  them  together  for 
rest  and  recreation.  If  tenants  are  many, 
these  celebrations  will  enable  them  to  meet 
with  the  landlord  in  a  democratic  and 
helpful  manner. 

(3)  The  village  church  should  see  that 

[89] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

means  are  provided  for  the  comfort  of 
country  people  at  a  central  point  in  the 
village.  Horse-sheds  are  sometimes  lack- 
ing in  the  village,  and  as  a  form  of  social 
service  the  opening  of  horse-sheds  on  the 
church  property  for  the  free  use  of  the 
public  is  sometimes  of  sensational  value. 
But  if  the  church  should  care  for  the  horse, 
it  should  care  far  more  for  the  women  and 
children,  who  come  with  their  men  from 
the  country  for  business  and  practical  pur- 
poses. While  the  men  are  trading,  the. 
women  should  have  a  comfortable  place  to 
wait.  It  may  well  be  in  the  church  or  other 
public  building.  It  should  be  near  to  the 
stores,  conveniently  furnished  to  meet  the 
needs  and  to  provide  comfort  for  those  who 
have  to  wait.  Such  an  enterprise  may  be 
greatly  enlarged  to  form  a  kind  of  forum 
or  meeting-hall  where  men  and  women  may 
have  many  services  rendered  such  as  are 
needed  in  a  busy  farming  community. 

[90] 


VILLAGE  LEADERSHIP 

(4)  The  church  should  bear  in  mind  that 
her  place  is  to  bring  comfort  and  peace  and 
spiritual  unity  to  the  people.  The  village 
church  should  be  watchful  of  all  the  needs 
of  the  countryside.  It  should  provide 
means  for  the  discussion  of  general  inter- 
ests. It  should  bear  in  mind  that  these 
general  interests  are  almost  surely  agricul- 
tural interests,  for  these  are  bonds  the  most 
profound  and  the  most  pervasive  in  country 
life.  Churches  should  not  scorn  to  be  the 
nursing  mothers  of  enterprises  which  will 
pass  beyond  their  control.  There  are  two 
churches  in  New  York  state  located  in  vil- 
lages, whose  members  in  their  rural  meet- 
ings have  conceived  and  planned  the  light- 
ing of  the  village  streets.  This  is  a  good 
illustration  of  the  form  of  social  service  of 
value  to  the  farmer  as  much  as  to  the  village 
dweller.  One  village  church  in  a  neighbor- 
hood made  up  of  Protestant  and  Roman 
Catholic  people  has  planned  and  launched 

[91] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

an  enterprise  which  took  form  in  a  village 
bank  much  needed  by  an  honest,  hard-work- 
ing population.  These  illustrations  are 
given,  not  as  the  highest  or  the  noblest  thing 
a  church  can  do,  but  as  examples  of  service 
to  be  rendered  by  a  village  church  attentive 
to  any  and  all  the  needs  of  the  flock  for 
which  it  stands.  The  parish  of  the  village 
church  lies  far  out  of  the  village  streets. 
Minister  and  people  must  conceive  their 
work  in  all  the  village  in  the  largest  way 
and  bring  into  the  fold  of  God  all  those 
whose  faces  are  turned  at  any  time  of  the 
week  toward  the  streets  of  the  village. 


[92] 


VII 

THE     COMMUNITY    CENTER 
CHURCH   AS   THE   EMBODI- 
MENT OF  FEDERATION 
AND  RELIGIOUS  UNION 

THE  doctrine  of  religious  unity  is  dear 
to  the  heart  of  all  Christian  people. 
As  much  as  any  doctrine  of  the  fathers  this 
ideal  of  their  sons  is  powerful  in  the 
modern  heart,  especially  of  business  men 
and  farmers.  One  meets  it  in  all  parts  of 
the  country.  In  every  public  gathering  the 
expression  of  the  longing  for  religious 
unity  calls  forth  a  tumultuous  response. 
Books  without  number  have  been  written 
upon  it.  Creeds  and  programs  have  been 
conceived  and  produced  in  every  part  of 
the  country.    Federations  have  been  organ- 

[93] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

ized  in  greater  numbers  than  the  denom- 
inations which  they  would  unite.  Indeed 
there  is  more  than  one  denomination  in  the 
country  which  was  conceived  and  born  with 
the  purpose  of  being  a  union  of  divided 
Christian  people. 

There  is  a  service  rendered,  though  it  be 
temporary,  by  union  churches  and  creeds 
and  programs  and  federations.  This  ser- 
vice is  partly  negative.  It  appears  to  be 
clearing  the  way  for  greater  Christian 
union.  These  measures  put  an  end  to  the 
old  recriminations  and  condemn  the  former 
custom  of  mutual  criticism  between  de- 
nominations. Yet  union  churches  seldom 
live  long  and  the  programs  or  creeds  of 
church  federations  do  not  get  themselves 
organized.  The  union  of  divided  Christian 
people  is  slow  in  coming.  In  the  United 
States  the  marriage  even  of  communions 
bearing  the  same  name  is  retarded  and  de- 
layed by  difEculties. 

[94] 


FEDERATION  AND  UNION 

The  churches  of  the  North  American 
Continent  are  looking  to  Canada,  where 
positive  union  seems  to  be  near  at  hand. 
The  close  sympathy  of  the  Presbyterian, 
Methodist,  and  Congregational  Churches 
and  the  working  union  of  which  they  have 
already  more  than  a  promise  throws  a  light 
of  hope  upon  the  divided  state  of  American 
Christianity.  Many  devout  people  hope 
and  pray  that  the  imminent  union  may  be 
perfected,  but  in  no  other  religious  experi- 
ence are  we  brought  so  plainly  face  to  face 
with  the  working  of  God's  hand  alone,  as 
in  the  profoundly  difficult  and  delicate 
enterprise  of  uniting  the  Christian 
churches. 

Meantime  the  church  which  serves  the 
community  is  an  embodiment  of  the  union 
of  Christian  people.  While  men  have  been 
dreaming  ineffective  dreams  of  legislative 
union  between  denominations,  the  Holy 
Spirit  has  been  teaching  us  to  socialize  the 

[95] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

work  of  the  churches.  Ministers  and 
people  have  longed  for  a  useful  church. 
Their  hearts  have  expanded  with  interest 
in  social  service.  They  have  worked  to- 
gether in  making  the  church  a  ministering 
agency  to  the  whole  community.  Wherever 
this  has  been  done,  there  has  been  found 
the  union  and  cooperation  of  Christian  folk 
about  which  federations  and  fusions  have 
talked  and  dreamed. 

These  community  churches  are  found  in 
all  denominations.  They  are  stronger  if 
they  have  a  denominational  name  and  the 
momentum  of  one  of  the  great  churches, 
than  if  they  be  independent  or  union  efforts. 
They  have  come  into  existence  through  the 
leadership  of  men  whose  heart  God  has 
touched  and  whose  eyes  have  been  anointed 
with  the  ability  to  see  the  new  day.  Service 
of  the  whole  community  is  a  new  develop- 
ment of  the  spirit  of  man  under  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

[96] 


FEDERATION  AND  UNION 

In  the  cities  this  relation  between  comity 
or  federation  of  churches  and  community 
service  is  not  so  apparent  as  in  the  open 
country,  for  in  the  country  the  population 
is  sparse  and  generally  is  diminishing. 
There  is  no  room  for  a  church  to  serve  the 
people  except  in  a  cooperation  of  all  the 
Christian  people  in  the  community,  and  in 
the  country  it  has  become  apparent  that 
everywhere  such  community  service,  urban 
or  rural,  is  cooperative.  Wherever  it  is 
rendered  it  expresses  the  unity  of  Christian 
folk,  for  service  is  the  work  of  the  Master. 
About  his  work  Christian  people  are  not 
in  disagreement.  In  doing  his  work  the 
followers  of  the  Master  are  brought  to- 
gether. To  do  the  service  which  men  need 
to-day  in  the  community  is  to  express  his 
mind  and  will.  The  challenge  to  commun- 
ity service  is  the  true  test  of  the  Christian 
in  all  denominations.  It  calls  men  of  de- 
vout mind  together.    It  disregards  the  divi- 

[97] 


THE  CHURCH  AT  THE  CENTER 

sions  between  conservative  and  liberal.  It 
unites  the  devout  and  the  humble  of  every 
sort  and  name.  It  satisfies  the  longing  of 
humble  folk,  who  find  in  service  the  very 
thing  for  which  they  became  Christians.  It 
is  the  rallying  center  around  which  all  men 
may  be  gathered,  and  in  this  center  under 
the  flag  of  the  Master  his  fellow  servants 
find  the  comfort  and  the  faith  which  has 
been  in  all  times  the  motive  and  the  reward 
of  the  children  of  God. 


[98] 


Princeton   Theological   Semmary-Speer   Lit 


1    1012  01091   4853 


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